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TV calls the tune!

Cricket in Singapore is booming - and that's pretty good news for followers of the game the world over. Prior to the Singer Cup that was staged here in 1996, the game was played only by a few people, mostly Indians, Sri Lankans and Pakistanis. And it was played only at the club level.

The Chinese, who form a major portion of the local population, knew very little about the sport. In fact, some schools that had introduced the game were asked to stop encouraging it, as it was allegedly eating into the study time for students.

The staging of the Singer Cup, however, brought about a sea change in the attitude of locals. Today, things are so very different, with as many as 50 schools having introduced the sport and a there is tremendous interest that keeps growing. The important development is that the Chinese are learning to play the game, and the Singapore Under-19 captain is Chinese.

But naturally, cricket at club level is thriving too. There are eight clubs that field three teams in each of the three grades of the tournaments over here, and more and more people are taking to the sport. Performances in inter-club matches form the criteria for selection to the national side.

Having seen the interest generated by the Singer Cup, the government of Singapore, not surprisingly, offered a 10-year lease of an open ground at Kallang to the Singapore Cricket Association for the development of the game. And when the triangular tournament was played here last week, the response of the locals was simply fantastic. This, I'm sure, must have helped the association financially too. Having their own ground will, in turn, help them conduct programmes that will further promote the game in this land.

Though the ground itself is a bit small on the sides, the wicket at Kailang, which was prepared under the supervision of the New Zealand Turi Institution, is an absolute beauty. I believe this institution did visit India to improve the standard of our wickets not so very long ago. God alone knows what transpired following their visit. Nothing fruitful, I guess, for the wickets in India continue to be mediocre.

Anyway, to get back to Singapore, the standard of cricket in the recent triangular was quite good. That was largely due to the fact that they dished out excellent wickets for each match. And even though some of the matches were marred by rain, their honorary secretary Anil Kalavar and his crew worked hard to get the game going. Unfortunately for Singapore cricket, they had to terminate the services of Narayan Satham, a former Baroda allrounder, due to financial constraints. Narayan, who is very friendly and hardworking, with a thorough knowledge of the game, had coached their under-19 and national team for the past three years. He always believes in discipline, sincerity and earnest effort, and his stint must have done Singapore cricket much good. It is his misfortune that he is rated very highly by foreigners, but not in his own country, where he could be more than useful as a coach at the junior level. Period.

With the itinerary of the Indian cricket team crammed till their last engagement, in March at Sharjah next year, I think it was a wise decision on the part of Sachin Tendular to rest himself form the inconsequential tournament in Toronto.

I really do not understand the logic behind organising three (international?) matches, first between India and the West Indies and then between West Indies and Pakistan. It has made a mockery of a triangular tournament. For you just cannot have a winner with India and Pakistan not playing each other. Why then have either India or Pakistan in the fray? They could have well organised a five-match one-day series between India and West Indies or Pakistan and the West Indies, which would have made more sense. But then, these are the days of commercialisation, and it is the television companies that decide who should participate, where, when and against whom. Itineraries, thus, are drawn up largely depending on the availability of 'air time'. What a pity!

All the same, now with Jadeja injuring himself in Singapore, and Tendulkar resting his back, the onus to perform rests on the broad shoulders of Ganguly and Dravid, besides of course, Kambli and Khurasia. And, mind you, it's not going to be an easy task for them.

It's also good to hear that Jacob Martin is included in the team for the first time. Here is a lad who deserves the break more than anyone else. He has the potential, but we'll have to wait and see how he performs at the highest level. He will do well to grab the opportunity firmly with both hands and not let it go abegging. Opportunities, after all, come few and far between.

Dilip Vengsarkar